Archive for March, 2020

New ambulance for Aurora

Mar 22

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News, New Apparatus Order | 8 Comments

From the Fire Service, Inc. Facebook page:

Congratulations to Aurora -IL Fire Department Illinois on the order of their 2020 Wheeled Coach Type 1 Ambulance!

We are eager to begin the process of building an emergency vehicle your community can depend on! Thank you for your continued loyalty!

Specs: curbside forward design, squad bench action tower, IMMI retractable 4 point harnesses for occupant safety, Patented Cool Bar HVAC system, Stryker Power Load and Power Cot system and Whelen M series warning lights.

new ambulance for the Aurora FD

Tags: Aurora Fire Department, drawing of a new ambulance, Fire Service Inc., new ambulance for Aurora

Chicago Fire Department history

Mar 22

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History | 5 Comments

This from Steve Redick:

I visited Engine 42’s old house and was shocked to see the new doors on the west side of the building and the refurbished wood on the front of the house. The inside shots look they are working on the original bay doors. Looks to me like it is gonna be a restaurant or bar, anyone know?

Steve Redick photo

Chicago FD former firehouse of Engine 42

Steve Redick photo

Steve Redick photo

Tags: Chicago FD Engine 42 fire house, Chicago Fire Department history, new use for old fire house, Steve Redick

Cancer in the fire service

Mar 22

Posted by Admin in Cancer in the fire service | Comments off

Excerpts from wlos.com:

The increased rates of cancer in the fire service have been a key topic for researchers and firefighters alike. In 2015, an IAFF study found particles of soot and smoke from structure fires could penetrate a firefighter’s turnout gear and could be contributing to the spike in cancer rates among firefighters.

Data gathered from a mannequin armed with sensors known at N.C. State as Pyroman, is one tool researchers are using to better protect firefighters from carcinogens that increase their risk of cancer. At Raleigh and N.C. State, there are half a dozen ongoing research projects aimed at providing better protections for firefighters. At N.C. State’s Textile Protection and Comfort Center, researchers are using Pyroman and PyroHead to combat soot and smoke in structure fires from penetrating a firefighter’s turnout gear, which could be contributing to the spike in cancer rates among firefighters.

Researchers are studying what chemical compounds are getting stuck to and later releasing from a firefighter’s turnout gear. That could be relevant for volunteer firefighters who may store their gear in their personal vehicles and puts anyone in the vehicle, including their families, at risk for exposure to carcinogens.

N.C. State is also focusing on glands on a firefighter’s face and neck and whether protective hoods are enough. In 2018, N.C. state developed a device, a particulate filtration efficiency test, with a light meter attached, that lets fire departments check their hoods for weaknesses.

Getting soot and grime off a firefighter’s skin sooner also has more departments using wipes on scene.

The research projects at N.C. State are funded through FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. To learn more about the program, click on the following link: NC State University Heat and Flame Protection TPACC

Tags: cancer in the fire service, Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, N.C. State’s Textile Protection and Comfort Center, researching firefighter PPE for carcinogen retention

Still & Box Alarm fire in Chicago, 3-21-20

Mar 21

Posted by Admin in Fire Scene video | Comments off

Video by Jim McCall of a Still & Box Alarm fire at 4142 W. Jackson Boulevard Saturday morning 3/21/20

Tags: Chicago Still & Box Alarm fire, fire scene video, Jim McCall

Working fire in Winnetka, 3-20-20

Mar 21

Posted by Admin in Apparatus on-scene | Comments off

This from Max Weingardt:

Winnetka working Fire last night at 811 Elm

Max Weingardt photo

Max Weingardt photo

Max Weingardt photo

Max Weingardt photo

Max Weingardt photo

Max Weingardt photo

Max Weingardt photo

Tags: Glencoe FD Engine 30, Glenview FD Truck 14, Highland Park FD Ambulance 32, Highland Park FD Engine 32, Max Weingardt, Northfield FD Squad 29, Winnetka FD Engine 28, Winnetka Fire Department

Brookfield Fire Department news

Mar 21

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

Excerpts from the rblandmark.com:

After a 30-year career in Westchester, James Adams will become the Brookfield fire chief on April 6, chosen from a field of seven final candidates, two of them internal. He replaces Fire Chief Mark Duffek, who retired in December after a 38-year career. Adams will be the first chief in Brookfield who was not promoted from within.

He got his start in the fire service as a paid-on-call firefighter in 1988 and was hired full-time in Westchester in 1990. He spent 18 years as a firefighter paramedic before being promoted to lieutenant in 2008, then to chief in 2011. He was involved in Westchester’s transition to a consolidated dispatch center, initiating electronic patient care reporting before it was required by the state, and strengthening health and safety policies at the village’s two fire stations. He also served as the fire department’s grant writer with about $800,000 in funding being awarded for everything from a heavy rescue to radios.

Adams has a bachelor’s degree from Western Illinois University. He also is a former varsity and sophomore level football coach at St. Joseph High School at Westchester, and for the past five years has kept official stats at home games for the Chicago Bears, a job he took over from his late father-in-law, George Strnad who did that job for 35 years.

Tags: Brookfield Fire Department, Fire Chief Mark Duffek, James Adam, new fire chief for Brookfield FD

Huntley Fire Protection District news (more)

Mar 21

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News, FIre Stations | Comments off

Excerpts from the NWHerald.com:

The Huntley Fire Protection District’s fifth fire station on the southeast corner of Jim Dhamer Drive and Hennig Road is expected to be operational by April 13. The district had planned a grand opening event the same day but, because of the growing threat of the coronavirus, public entry will be postponed to a later date. There are no plans to hire new staff but the district has enough staff to effectively operate all stations.

The district is also awaiting the completion of about a 12,000 square foot expansion and renovation to its existing facility at 11118 Main St. The additions to the East Main Street location will make it a two-story building with a training room, office space, and upstairs living quarters. It also was designed to reduce firefighters’ exposure to carcinogenic materials after responding to a hazardous incident.

This renovation will be finished in July and it is estimated that crews would be fully moved into the building by Sept. 1.

The district’s current headquarters and Station 1 at 11808 Coral St. will be sold once the renovations are finished. Neither project required the passage of a referendum to fund. About $14 million was saved in the past decade for various expansion projects to compensate for projected growth in Huntley’s population.

Tags: chicagoareafire.com, fire station under construction, Huntley Fire Protection District, Huntley FPD Station 5, Huntley FPD to build new fire station, new fire station under construction

Fire service news – coronavirus

Mar 20

Posted by Admin in CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) | Comments off

Excerpts from foxnews.com:

The Chattanooga Fire Department said on Facebook it received a donation of sanitizing products after a viral story about individuals who hoarded nearly 18,000 bottles. Matt and Noah Colvin drew widespread fury over the weekend after their effort was profiled by The New York Times, in which they were revealed to have cleared out hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes from stores around Chattanooga and parts of Kentucky.

On Sunday, one of the brothers helped volunteers from a local church place two-thirds of the massive supply onto a truck destined to deliver the products to Tennesseans in need. The church has been in contact with the Hamilton County Sheriff and local authorities to get the sanitizer into the hands of emergency workers, nursing homes, and anywhere else they are most needed. The remaining third reportedly was seized by officials from the Tennessee attorney general’s office and will be handed over to authorities in Kentucky for distribution.

The brothers had sold the sanitizer for between $8 and $70 each, multiple times higher than what they paid for the product at local stores.

Tags: 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Fatal fire in Chicago, 3-19-20

Mar 20

Posted by Admin in Fatal fire | Comments off

Excerpts from abc7chicago.com:

A 59-year-old man was found dead in a fire .

Firefighters responded about 1:40 p.m. to a six-unit building in the 2600 block of S. Wells St. in Chinatown Thursday. Heavy fire was coming from the front window. Inside, firefighters found a man near the front of the building who was pronounced dead at the scene. The man was 59 years old and had burns on his body. The Cook County medical examiner’s office has not released his name or cause of death.

No one else was injured, and there was no working smoke alarm inside. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Tags: fatal fire in Chicago, fatal fire in Chicago's Chinatown